Parachute



Oct. 13, 1964 R. KARPF 3,l52,782

PARACHUTE Filed March 23, 1962 Rudolf KARPF INVEN TOR.

f 'I BY W mwwm- 3,152,782 V PARACHUTE Rudolf Karpf, Munich, Germany, assignor to 'Heipara `Gfinnnlmlil. Lnftfahrzeughau, Bonn, Germany, a-corporation of Germany i Filed Mar. 23, 1962,Ser. No. 181,877

9 Claims. (Cl. 244-145) canopy, entering the relatively wide funnel mouth of each nozzle, escapes upwardly at increased speed and exerts a descent-slowing action upon the parachute.

` According to the disclosure of the copending'applica- .tio'n a canopy of this type was found to be particularly advantageous when combined with a second canopy overlying the first one, this second canopy having a relatively large central aperture through which the air Streaming out of the vents could escape.v An object of the present inven-l tion is to extend the descent-slowing and parachute-stabilizing effect of such vents to single-canopy devices.

Another object of this invention is to provide an imi proved parachute of increased carrying capacity whereby it is possible to handle larger loads and/or effect slower descents with a parachute of given weight or, conversely, to reduce the weight'and the size of the parachute for a prescribed rate of descent of a given load. a

It has been found in accordance with the present inven- I tion, surprisingly enough, that the foregoing objects can be. realized with a parachute Whose singlecanopy when v fully opened has a toroidal bulge just above its peripheral edge, the diameter of the canopy at the center of the bulge thus being somewhat greater than the diiar'neter of said peripheral edge, and wherein the air vents or at least 'the greater part of such vents (in terms of combined crosssectional area) are disposed in the region of that bulge. The canopy also has a larger, preferably adjustable airescape aperture at its center.

Advantageously, according to another featurefof the i j invention, the peripheral edge below the bulge is bounded i by a resiliently deformable annular element, such as a rubber cord, whose presence serves to spread the rim of lthe canopy upon unfolding suificiently to enable air to pass into'its concavity and to open it fully.

Though the inven-tiondoes not exclude the provision of additional vents at locations closer'to the center of the canopy, tests` have established that air passages at these locations are progressively less effective' inslowing and stabilizing the parachute as their distance from` the J peripheral bulge increases. It is believed that the advantageous and unexpected effects of the present improvement are due to the maintenance of a Constant turbulence around the bulge, with the central air passage acting maini ly as the stabilizing means while the peripheral vents control the rate -of descen't. It has been found that pendulations, which in conventonal parachutes may range be- Vtween and 15''l and which increase with the load, are

greatly reduced or almost completelyeliminated thereby. o The above and other objects, features and advantages I of this invention will become morefully apparent from the following detailed description of a'preferred embodiing in which:

United States Patent O is attached to the frustoconical mouth portion of nozzle 17 through fiexible ribs 20 enabling a Controlled separa-v ment, reference being made to the accompanying draw- I,

PIG. 1 is a side-elevational view of a parachute' incorporating the present improvement; and

FIG. 2 is an axial cross-sectional view of its canopy.

The parachute shown in the drawing comprises a canopy 1 provided at its center with a relatively large central aperture 2 and a mul-tiplicity of peripheral vents 7 located in a bulging region 3 approximating part of a toroidal surface. The maximum diameter of bulge 3 is somewhat larger than that of the peripheral edge 4 forming the lower boundary of the spread canopy. The intermediate region 6 of the canopy 1 is unperforated in the embodiment illustrated. Shroud lines 5 depend from the canopy 1 in the usual manner.

The vents 7 communicate With the atmosphere outside i the convex surface of canopy 1 through respective nozzles 8 which as here shown include annular base fianges 9, frustoconical tubularrportions 10 projecting from these fianges outwardly through the vents 7, and substantially cylindrical tubular outer extensions 11 continuing beyond the narvrow end of the fmstocones. VVhile the extensions 11 could be oinit'ted, their presenc'e has been found to increase the pressure diiferential along the nozzles and, therefore, the retarding action exerted upon the outflow of air from the concave side of the canopy.

Though 'the nozzles 8 could be secured to the canopy 1 on either its inner or its outer surface, it is advantageous to mount the flanges 9 on its interior since the nozzles wii-l thereby be held against outward entrainment by the escaping-air even if the bond between these flanges and the canopy should fail. Preferably, these nozzles are Vmade of thin and flexible impervious sheet material to facilitate the folding of the parachute, heat-sealable thermoplastics being particularly desirable since in this case the flanges 9 can be thermally fused (e.g. by dielectric heating) to the canopy if the fabric thereof is made of filaments of similar character. i

A nozzle 17, generally similar to the nozzles 8, is also shown to overlie the central aperture 2 of the canopy. This aperture can ,be adjusted with the aid of a cord 18 attached'to a frustoconical valve plug 19, preferably also of yieldable material such as soft rubber or plastic, which 15 need not be inflated for this purpose since its inherent resiliency, coupled with Ithe fiexibility of the substantially Vinextensible sheet material forming the enveloping 'portion 14, sufices to create an initial entrance gap for the air which thereupon fills the canopy and expands it intoA the position shown in the drawing. o

It will be noted that the entire parachute herein disclosed is made of soft, fiexible material and can thus be easily folded, with the tips of the nozzles bent back fiat against the canpoy to save space.

What is claimed is:

1. A parachute comprising a canopy having an eXposed i outer surface and exhibiting in its expanded state an anmilarV peripheral bulge adjacent its edge with said edge lying inwardly ofsaid bulge, said canopy being provided with a" multiplicity of spaced outwardly projecting air nozzles of selectively small cross-section circumferential- A marginal strip 16, forrning an i ly distributed over said surface, at Vleast the major part of said nozzles in terms of total eifcctive cross-sectional area being disposed along said'peripheral bulge With some or" said nozzles being directed upwardly and others of Said nozzles being directed downwardly.

2. A parachute comprising a canopy having an exposed outer surface and exhibiting in its expanded state an annular per'ipheral bulge adjacent its edge with said edge lying invvardly of s'aid bulge, said canopy being provided With a multiplicity of spaced air vents ofgrelatively small cross-section circumferentially distributed'over said surface, at least the rnajor part of said vents in terms of total effective cross-'sectionai area being disposed along said peripheral bulge, each of said vents is provided with a vnozzle of progressively reduced cross-sectional area extending outwardly from said canopy.

3. A Vparachnte according to claim 2 wherein said nozzle consists of lexible Sheet material.

4. A parachute according to claim 2 wherein said nozzle has an enlarged base secured to said canopy, said base bearing' upon the inner surface of said canopy.

5. A paracliute according to claim 2 Wherein said being directed upwardly and others of said nozzles being directed downwardly.

`hibi-ting in its expanded state lan annular peripheral bulge adjacent its edge,said canopy being provided With a relatively large central air passage and a multiplicity of relatively small air vents circumferentially distributed over its surface substantially only in the region of said peripheral bulge, each of said vents being .provided With a nozzle having a frustoconical tubular portion projecting out- Wardly from said canopy, said portion having its narrower end remote from the respective vent.

8. A parachuteV according toV clairn wherein said nozzle further has a substan'tially cylindrical tubular portion projecting outwardly beyond said narrower end of said frustoconical portion. V

9. A para'chute according to clairn 7 wherein said air passage is also provided v'vith a noz'zl having an upwardly converging portion rising from the top of said canopy.

References' Cited in the file of this patent UNITED sTATEs PATENTS 2,358,233 Jorgensen Sept. 12, 1944 ;462,854 Heinrich Mar. 1, 1949 2,58l08 Moran Jan. 8, 1952 2644556 Zboclr' et al July 7, 1953 2,737,358 Heinrich Mar. 6, 1956 3,035.,798 Brinkmann May 22, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 176,780 Great Britain Feb. 28, 1922 250,945V Great Britain May 5, 1927 1,094,964

France Dec. 15, 1954 

1. A PARACHUTE COMPRISING A CANOPY HAVING AN EXPOSED OUTER SURFACE AND EXHIBITING IN ITS EXPANDED STATE AN ANNULAR PERIPHERAL BULGE ADJACENT ITS EDGE WITH SAID EDGE LYING INWARDLY OF SAID BULGE, SAID CANOPY BEING PROVIDED WITH A MULTIPLICITY OF SPACED OUTWARDLY PROJECTING AIR NOZZLES OF SELECTIVELY SMALL CROSS-SECTION CIRCUMFERENTIAL- 